Aerospace

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of research and development funding they are making available to the United Kingdom aerospace sector in the financial years (1) 2011-12, (2) 2012-13, and (3) 2013-14.

Baroness Wilcox: Government have committed over £47 million for Aerospace research and technology projects in 2011-12, In addition, there are already further commitments of £33 million in 2012-13 and £3.4 million in 2013-14. The Government are working with the sector through the joint Government/Industry Aerospace Growth Partnership to identify future research priorities.
	In addition, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has identified between £3 million and £5 million in each of the three financial years to support aerospace Research and Development (R&D). The TSB will work closely with the industry and the Aerospace and Defence Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) to determine how those funds can be most effectively used to accelerate technology development and commercialisation.
	The sector can also benefit from other support provided by the TSB such as through the KTN and the recently launched High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre, as well as competitions in cross-cutting technology areas suitable for wide industrial application.
	The Government also provide repayable loans in the form of launch investment to help fund the development of new aircraft programmes. The most recent of these have been to Airbus and GKN (for the development of the Airbus A350 XWB) and to Bombardier (for the CSeries). The total value of loans for these programmes is approximately £514 million.

Agriculture: Dairy Farms

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the variation to the pilot study to collect antimicrobial resistance and other relevant data from dairy farms with and without extended-spectrum beta-lactamases E coli.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (e.g. costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
	This study was commissioned by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate as an initial investigation into the role of antimicrobial usage as a factor influencing the prevalence of E.coli carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) on dairy farms. At the outset the study was set up for 1 year to explore the feasibility of the approach. Data collected confirmed the feasibility of the proposed methods and so the variation was put in place to strengthen the output. The variation extended the project by one year so that a further 20 ESBL positive and 20 ESBL negative farms could be identified then visited to take samples and carry out the subsequent analyses. As a result of the extra work, the cost of the project increased from £170,525 to £274,483.

Agriculture: Pig and Poultry Products

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have drawn any safety concerns to the World Trade Organisation's attention under its sanitary and phytosanitary agreement regarding non-European Union countries exporting pig and poultry products to the United Kingdom.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Defra has not raised any concerns to the World Trade Organisation on imports of pig and poultry products into the UK.
	The rules for imports from non-European Union (EU) countries to the United Kingdom of animals and animal products, including pig and poultry products, are set at the EU level. All imported meat must come from a country authorised for imports into the EU; from an approved establishment; each consignment must be accompanied by the appropriate animal and public health certification; and must be officially checked on entry to the EU at designated border inspection posts.
	If an outbreak of disease occurs in the exporting country, or there are any major deficiencies found that may pose a risk to animal or public health, appropriate safeguard actions on imports will be discussed and voted on by veterinary experts from all 27 EU member states on the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.
	These import controls to protect animal and public health are in line with the guidelines established by the Office International des Epizooties (01E), the world organisation of animal health, and the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement of the World Trade Organisation.

Apprenticeships

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a survey of apprentices' pay was undertaken in the past year; and, if so, what were the results and what is their assessment of those results.

Baroness Wilcox: A UK wide survey of apprenticeship pay is currently under way. The results are due to be published by early 2012.

Apprenticeships

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the results of, and what is their assessment of, the 2011 Skills for Life Survey.

Baroness Wilcox: The 2011 Skills for Life survey examines the literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills of adults, aged between 16 and 65 years old, in England. This is a follow-up to the original survey conducted in 2003.The headline findings report for the 2011 survey1 was published on 1 December. The full survey report is due to be published in spring 2012.
	The key headline findings from the survey are that:
	There has been a substantial up-shift from Level 1 to Level 2 literacy: 56.6 per cent of 16-65 year-olds with literacy at Level 2 or above in 2011,2 compared to 44.2 per cent in 2003.Among 16-18 year-olds there has been a 13 percentage point rise in the proportion achieving Level 2 or above literacy and a 12 percentage point rise for 19-65 year-olds.There has been no statistically significant change in the proportion of 16-65 year-olds achieving Level 1 or above literacy: 85.1 per cent in 2011, compared to 83.8 per cent in 2003.There are more adults at the lowest levels of literacy; those with Entry Level 1 and Entry Level 2 literacy have increased from 5.4 per cent (1.7 million) in 2003 to 7.1 per cent (2.4 million) in 2011.There has been a small decrease (2.3 percentage points) since 2003 in the proportion of 16-65 year-olds possessing numeracy skills at Entry Level 3 or above: 76.3 per cent in 2011. compared to 78.6 per cent in 2003.On the three practical ICT assessments, respondents tended to perform best in e-mailing (52 per cent at Level 2 or above). People were least likely to achieve Level 2 or above on spreadsheet use (17 per cent), but word processing had the highest proportion of people at Entry Level 2 or below (43 per cent).Seven in 10 adults aged 16-65 years old achieved Level 1 or above in literacy and Entry Level 3 or above in numeracy. One in 10 (10 per cent) were belowboth of these levels.
	The Government highlighted in New Challenges, New Chances,3 published on 1 December 2011, that though there has been a large improvement since 2003 in Level 2 and above literacy, it is unacceptable that 24 per cent of adults lack functional numeracy skills and 15 per cent lack functional literacy skills. Following their review of adult literacy and numeracy provision, the Government have set out in New Challenges, New Chances the actions they are taking to improve the economic and personal returns of its investment in literacy and numeracy provision.
	1 TNS-BMRB and AlphaPlus Consultancy Ltd. (1/12/11) 2011 Skills for Life survey: headline findings, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, BIS research paper 57. Available online at: http: www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/0-9/11-1367-2011-skills-for-life-survey-findings.pdf, accessed on 13/12/11.
	2 The Skills for Life surveys were conducted in 2002-03 and 2010-11. For ease of reference, they are referred to in the text as the 2003 and 2011 surveys.
	3 BIS (1/12/11) New Challenges, New Chances: Further Education and Skills System Reform Plan: building a World Class Skills System, available online at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/f/11-1340-further-education-skills-system-reform-plan.pdf, accessed on 13/12/11.

Apprenticeships

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the results of, and what is their assessment of, the 2010/11 Learner Destination Survey.

Baroness Wilcox: The most recently published survey covers learners completing priority further education courses in the 2007-08 academic year and progressing to a positive destination in 2008-09. This can be found at: http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/SFA/FtE_Summary _Statistics_2010.pdf
	We will publish the outcome of a more recent survey covering positive destinations in 2009-10 from the academic year 2008-09 in March 2012.

Armed Forces: Bahrain

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of the United Kingdom's military personnel stationed in Bahrain in March were engaged in any way on behalf of the government of Bahrain during the uprising.

Lord Astor of Hever: No.

Autumn Statement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what improvement they plan in the connections between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement.

Lord Sassoon: As set out in the Autumn Statement, this Government will continue to work with the devolved Administrations to improve the links between our nations.
	As part of this, the Government announced that Belfast will become one of 10 "super-connected cities" across the UK, with a new urban broadband fund providing £100 million of investment across the UK.

Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of the Financial Services Authority's report The failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland, they propose to disqualify Sir Tom McKillop and Sir Fred Goodwin under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1981.

Baroness Wilcox: The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) report into the failure of RBS refers to the tact that previous material on RBS compiled by PwC was disclosed to officials earlier this year. This information was provided so a view could be taken on whether there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the Secretary of State should take action against any director by way of disqualification. Counsel advised then that it would not be appropriate to bring proceedings on the information contained in that material. Now that the FSA's report has been published, the Secretary of State has instructed Counsel to provide further advice on what course of action is open.

BBC: World Service Trust

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 28 November (WA 2-3), what are the "development results already being achieved and delivered" by the BBC World Service Trust; what are the existing programmes funded by the Department for International Development that will now be brought together and what will be the resulting efficiencies; and whether they foresee any risks arising from the £90 million of funding being provided representing up to 40 per cent of the Trust's annual budget.

Baroness Northover: The grant to the BBC World Service Trust is building on development results already achieved through governance, health, and humanitarian programmes already funded by the Department for International Development. For example, in Bangladesh, 60 per cent of people thought the "Question Time" programme had made politicians and officials more accountable. In Cambodia, the health programme increased the number of people using condoms, the number of women going to antenatal checks, and the number of people washing their hands. "Lifeline" programmes are reaching people in emergencies with information that is critical to their survival. A young woman's comment on a Darfur programme was that "when you listen to this programme you feel that it is the only link between you and the outside world".
	The existing programmes being rolled into the new grant are:
	a) "A National Conversation" focusing on governance in Tanzania, Angola and Sierra Leone; b) "Climate Asia" in seven countries across Asia; andc) a health programme in India.
	The Government estimate that bringing these together will result in an efficiency saving of just under £360,000. In order to avoid the risk of dependency on funding, the grant will not exceed 40 per cent of the BBC World Service Trust's overall annual funding.

British Embassies

Lord Janner of Braunstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to expand the High Tech Hub initiative in the British Embassy in Tel Aviv to United Kingdom embassies in other nations.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The hi-tech Hub in Israel was opened by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right honourable friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) on 3 November 2011. This initiative has been designed by our ambassador to Tel Aviv. At present, there are no plans to open similar hi-tech hubs in our other embassies around the world. However the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is monitoring the progress of the hub in Tel Aviv to determine whether it might act as a model or provide lessons relevant to our engagement in other countries in the future, in line with the expansion of our efforts to promote the UK's prosperity.

Businesses: Renovation Allowance

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many regeneration projects have been funded using the Business Premises Renovation Allowance.

Lord Sassoon: The information requested is not available. Businesses only have to report values of business premises renovation allowance claims on their tax returns. They do not have to state how many different projects these claims relate to. For accounting periods ending in 2009-10, the latest year for which this data is available, around 2,000 businesses made claims for business premises renovation allowance.

Climate Change

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation will be additional to and not taken from the Department for International Development budget.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government's four-yearly spending review set a budget of £2.9 billion for climate finance for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15, known as the international climate fund. UK international climate finance is official development assistance (ODA) and is being met from within the rising aid budget. The share of UK ODA devoted to climate finance will continue to account for less than 10 per cent in every year of this spending period.

Consumer Credit Act 2006

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 16 February (WA 165), what parts of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 have yet to be brought into force.

Baroness Wilcox: Paragraph 17 of Schedule 3 of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 is not in force. It has not been necessary to commence this paragraph because its effect has been achieved by the transitional provisions in articles 4 and 5 of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (Commencement No 2 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2007.

Corporate Governance

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Wilcox on 7 December (HL Deb, col 715), what actions they are taking to get shareholders in public companies to "take the responsibility" and use "the power that they have" on corporate governance.

Baroness Wilcox: The Government are clear that engagement between institutional investors and companies is vital to help improve long-term returns to shareholders and the efficient exercise of governance responsibilities. The stewardship code, introduced last year, sets out aspirational standards for institutional investors in their engagement with companies. It now has over 230 signatories and a report published this month has found that the quality of engagement between investors and company boards is already improving.
	The Kay review is currently looking at the relationships between shareholders and companies, including how effectively they engage with each other. The review will produce a set of recommendations next summer which may propose how to further strengthen such engagement.

Crime: Rioting

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government who they hold responsible for the failure to provide protection to businesses and residents during the August riots; and whether those affected have received apologies from those responsible.

Lord Henley: The Government are clear that responsibility for any damage or harm to businesses or the public lies squarely with the perpetrators.

Crime: Rioting

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of claims against public compensation schemes made to date by residents who and businesses which experienced damage during the August riots; how much has been paid to date; and what is the estimated total cost of public compensation to date.

Lord Henley: Under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886, applications for compensation are made directly to police authorities. There is no requirement for them to provide this information to the Home Office. Therefore, the precise figures of payments that have been made to claimants is held locally by each police authority.

Criminal Records

Lord Patel of Blackburn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks are made on the criminal records of foreign offenders when they are arrested in the United Kingdom.

Lord Henley: All foreign criminals are checked against the police national computer to see whether they have previous offences in the United Kingdom. The police service is able, using the provisions in EU council decision 2005/876/JHA on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record, to make a request for the previous convictions of the arrested individual from the country of nationality if the individual is an EU national. Such requests are routed through the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records.
	Although many member states do provide information on request it is not mandatory to do so under the council decision. It will become mandatory when framework decision 2009/315/JHA on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between member states comes into force at the end of April 2012. The police service, conscious that the self-declaration of nationality and identity information by the arrested individual can result in difficulties in identifying individuals and finding out their correct criminal record, has been working with EU partners to exchange fingerprints as well as alpha-numeric information.
	The police service can also, irrespective of the individual's nationality, check Interpol records concerning an arrested individual. It can also, either directly or through Interpol channels request information from the country of nationality. The decision on whether to do so is an operational matter for the police.

Debt: Pawnbrokers

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount of money they estimate is borrowed through pawnbrokers in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Wilcox: In 2009 the Office of Fair Trading estimated that there were 1,200 pawnbroking shops across the UK, with the annual loan book worth between £500 million and £600 million.

Elderly People: Benefits

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to means-test state pension payments or to alter the current basis of universal benefits for the elderly.

Lord Freud: The Government are preserving key benefits for older people, including winter fuel payments, free sight tests, prescriptions, TV licences and concessionary bus travel.
	There are no plans to means test the contributory state pension. A consultation paper, A State Pension for the 21st Century, (Command 8053) published in April this year outlined proposals to simplify the state pension system to make if a more effective foundation for retirement saving.
	The age at which people become entitled to free prescriptions will be changed to reflect changes to state pension age qualification. The Department of Health is considering how best to implement this change of criteria for free prescriptions and in the mean time the age of entitlement will remain at 60.
	There are no current plans for any further changes.

Elections: Voting System

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government why citizens of Zimbabwe resident in the United Kingdom are able to vote in United Kingdom elections following the 2003 withdrawal by Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth.

Lord McNally: Following Zimbabwe's withdrawal from the Commonwealth, the UK Government decided to maintain Commonwealth rights for Zimbabwean citizens in the UK, drawing on a precedent set with Fiji. As such, Zimbabwean citizens are still allowed to benefit under any relevant nationality provisions including voting rights. The UK Government look forward to a time when the conditions are right for Zimbabwe to return to the Commonwealth.

Employment Tribunals

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what work has been done to date in preparation for the next Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications.

Baroness Wilcox: The survey of employment tribunal applications (SETA) is a benchmark survey that allows us to monitor developments in the employment tribunal system. It is an important part of the research that we do, particularly given the policy changes in this area. The most recent SETA was published in 2008.
	We are considering whether and when to carry out another survey of employment tribunal applications, taking into account policy developments, resources and budget. As part of these considerations we have carried out a feasibility study to assess the evidence needs for a new SETA, examine the methodology used in previous years, and consider and assess the design options which might deliver the requirements at the same and reduced costs as SETA 2008.

Energy: Carbon Emissions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what quantity of carbon emissions are generated by the process of extracting one barrel of oil from (1) tar sands, and (2) North Sea oil reserves.

Lord Marland: The results would vary according to a range of factors, including the efficiency of the technology used to extract the oil and the heaviness of the oil itself.

Energy: Fuel Rebates

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Sassoon on 25 November concerning the rural fuel rebate pilot scheme (WS 91-2), why it was necessary to obtain European Union clearance before introducing the scheme.

Lord Sassoon: The EU energy tax directive normally requires member states to apply a single nationwide rate of duty on each fuel product. In order to apply different rates in different regions, member states require a specific exemption, or derogation. Securing this requires the support of the European Commission and the unanimous agreement of all the EU member states.
	The Government secured EU clearance for the introduction of a 5p per litre rural fuel rebate pilot scheme in the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Northern Isles, islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly. The scheme will come into force on 1 March 2012.

Energy: Green Deal

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to publicise serious breaches of the Green Deal Code of Conduct by assessors or providers; what sanctions will be applicable; and whether those sanctions will include deregistration.

Lord Marland: Sanctions under the Green Deal are clearly set out in the Energy Act 2011 and further detail will be confirmed in the framework regulations to be made by the Secretary of State under the Act next year, including stop notices, enforcement orders, and powers to withdraw authorisation for assessors, installers, certification bodies and providers.

Energy: Green Deal

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, under the Green Deal, main contractors will be prohibited from charging Green Deal providers a reference fee.

Lord Marland: The Green Deal draft legislative framework does not prohibit contractors from charging Green Deal providers a reference fee. We believe many different business models will emerge and this will be a matter for commercial contracts between various parties.

Energy: Meters

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes in the United Kingdom were using pre-payment meters according to (1) energy supplier, and (2) region, in each of the last five years.

Lord Marland: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about the use of prepayment meters in its Social Obligations Annual Reports (ww (www.ofgem.gov.uk/sustainability).
	The tables below show the number of prepayment meter customers with each of the big six suppliers from 2006-2010.
	
		
			 Prepayment electricity customers 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 36,672 53,936 52,706 67,011 70,368 
			 E.ON 81,795 163,547 45,452 52,009 28,332 
			 Edf Energy 26,321 25,789 29,362 46,366 33,577 
			 Npower 52,096 37,479 40,478 49,523 38,637 
			 SSE 32,621 39,024 41,862 50,662 64,799 
			 Scottish Power 33,118 42,310 38,605 30,007 20,307 
			 Total 262,623 362,085 248,465 295,578 256,020 
		
	
	
		
			 Prepayment gas customers 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 131,576 158,687 142,153 112,217 99,251 
			 E.ON 28,548 8,671 16,063 21,007 20,121 
			 Edf Energy 9,714 11,850 11,985 23,608 19,807 
			 Npower 36,733 35,849 31,760 46,669 35,447 
			 SSE 18,186 21,508 24,380 31,442 38,290 
			 Scottish Power 14,912 15,550 15,611 20,114 14,892 
			 Total 239,669 252,115 241,952 255,057 227,808 
		
	
	The tables below show the number of prepayment meter customers in England, Scotland and Wales at the end of each year from 2006-2010.
	
		
			 Prepayment electricity customers 
			 Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 2,869,169 2,900,085 2,946,850 3,076,814 3,196,445 
			  13% 13% 13% 14% 14% 
			 Scotland 469,076 471,335 467,536 497,197 529,341 
			  18% 17% 17% 18% 18% 
			 Wales 225,840 220,701 215,805 225,149 232,584 
			  17% 16% 16% 17% 18% 
		
	
	
		
			 Prepayment gas customers 
			 Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 1,951,483 2,007,886 2,946,850 3,076,814 3,196,445 
			  11% 11% 13% 14% 14% 
			 Scotland 179,646 200,530 467,536 497,197 529,341 
			  10% 10% 17% 18% 18% 
			 Wales 141,638 141,277 215,805 225,149 232,584 
			  13% 13% 16% 17% 18%

Energy: Meters

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of homes using pre-payment meters are in debt, or have accumulated arrears with their energy supplier; and what is the total level of those arrears according to (1) energy supplier; and (2) region.

Lord Marland: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about the use of prepayment meters in its Social Obligations Annual Reports (www.ofgem.gov.uk/sustainability). The data do not give the total amount of arrears prepayment meter customers have accumulated with their energy supplier or by region.
	The tables below show the number of customers who had a prepayment meter installed by the big six suppliers to recover a debt from 2006-10.
	
		
			 Prepayment electricity customers 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 28,400 43,760 36,530 63,626 67,395 
			 E.ON 43,200 45,220 27,553 34,987 23,120 
			 Edf Energy 14,646 12,383 12,297 32,993 24,371 
			 Npower 52,096 28,381 35,129 43,351 33,588 
			 SSE 26,293 32,893 34,678 45,229 57,049 
			 Scottish Power 28,437 38,144 33,053 28,101 19,635 
			 Total 193,072 200,781 179,240 248,287 225,158 
		
	
	
		
			 Prepayment gas customers 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 94,921 112,389 103,253 90,504 88,183 
			 E.ON 14,153 6,311 7,260 13,949 12,305 
			 Edf Energy 4,102 3,250 4,218 19,352 15,691 
			 Npower 24,131 23,262 27,635 40,889 31,393 
			 SSE 17,512 20,774 23,050 30,135 36,056 
			 Scottish Power 13,680 14,143 12,887 19,178 14,624 
			 Total 168,499 180,129 178,303 214,007 198,252 
		
	
	The tables below show the number of prepayment meter customers in debt in England, Scotland and Wales at the end of each year from 2006-2010.
	
		
			 Prepayment electricity customers 
			 Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 361,058 548,014 517,707 459,491 317,329 
			 Scotland 81,643 82,487 65,927 58,547 41,434 
			 Wales 22,179 23,334 19,428 18,330 13,753 
		
	
	
		
			 Prepayment gas customers 
			 Region 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 England 256,730 318,564 312,143 302,204 270,683 
			 Scotland 26,293 32,703 33,409 29,959 30,959 
			 Wales 24,508 25,006 18,227 18,946 20,256

Energy: Meters

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of pre-payment meter energy customers who are disconnected by their energy supplier due to non-payment.

Lord Marland: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about the use of prepayment meters in its Social Obligations Annual Reports (www.ofgem.gov.uk/ sustainability). The data do not give the number of prepayment meter customers who have been disconnected by their energy supplier due to non-payment.
	The tables below show the total number of disconnections due to debt for electricity and gas supplies by each of the big six suppliers.
	
		
			 Disconnection of electricity supplies 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 1 0 3 17 2 
			 E.ON 233 476 337 1 1 
			 Edf Energy 313 494 1138 1588 1341 
			 Npower 380 861 295 163 253 
			 SSE 97 178 175 156 82 
			 Scottish Power 234 648 885 418 230 
			 Total 1258 2657 2833 2343 1909 
		
	
	
		
			 Disconnection of gas supplies 
			 Supplier 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 British Gas 2 0 8 37 0 
			 E.ON 644 928 445 0 0 
			 Edf Energy 526 878 975 474 234 
			 Npower 1637 1343 360 61 81 
			 SSE 593 728 335 98 66 
			 Scottish Power 454 848 799 1013 407 
			 Total 3856 4725 2922 1683 788

Energy: Oil Sands

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 13 December (HL13910), with which (a) oil companies, (b) trade associations, and (c) organisations representing environmental and social issues, Ministers or officials have discussed the issues of extraction of oil from oil sands and the European Fuel Quality Directive.

Earl Attlee: Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's normal practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	However, given the high public interest in this particular subject I am happy to provide the following information. Ministers and officials from across government have discussed the issues of extraction of from oil sands and the fuel quality directive with:
	BP, Shell, Valero, Essar, ExxonMobil, Ineos Refining, Total, SilverBirch Energy, Connacher Oil and Gas, Statoil, ConocoPhillips, Murco, AMEC, Suncor, CNRL, Talisman and Nexen. UK Petroleum Industry Association, Europia, Renewable Energy Association, Downstream Fuel Association, International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, Canada-Europe Roundtable for Business, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Calgary Economic Development, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative.Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, ActionAid, Co-operative Group, LUSH cosmetics, Transport and Environment, WWF, People and Planet, the UK Tar Sands Network, the Council of Canadians, Canada West think tank, various representatives of First Nations groups, Pembina NGO and the Calgary University Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment and Economy.
	The extraction of oil from oil sands and the fuel quality directive have often been raised by a wide range of stakeholders in workshops, meetings, and conferences that take place both in the UK and abroad. It has not been possible to confidently provide details of every organisation that could have been at these events in the past.

Environment: Air Quality

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the variation agreed in the air quality modelling review.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by departmental specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (e.g. costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc.).
	In October 2010 the Defra contract "Air Quality Modelling Review" was amended to include £9,750 of additional work. Further work was required to allow the analysis of additional modelling data submitted to the department's modelling intercomparison exercise: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/research/air-quality-modelling?view=intercomparison
	This work included the collection, processing and statistical analysis of modelling data using specialised software, the production of three reports presenting the analysis results, and preparation for and attendance at three meetings held in January 2011. The work provided a large proportion of the evidence presented to the steering group which conducted Defra's air quality modelling review.

Environment: Soil

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the variation agreed in the project "Climate change impacts on soil biota-development of experimental methodology".

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The (zero cost) variation to the "Climate change impacts on soil biota-development of experimental methodology" project was to extend its end date to 31 March 2011.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are providing funds for the Palestinian Trauma Centre in Gaza.

Baroness Northover: The UK does not fund the Palestinian Trauma Centre in Gaza. However, through our funding to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UK helps provide public healthcare to Palestinians in Gaza, including trauma counselling. 25,000 refugee children are receiving counselling through UNRWA's psychosocial support services.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms amongst children and mothers of young children in Gaza.

Baroness Northover: The UK has not made a specific assessment of the extent of post-traumatic stress (PTS) in children and mothers of young children living in Gaza. The latest report by the non-governmental organisation Gaza Community Mental Health Programme in 2010 found that 57 per cent of children are still reporting moderate reactions to trauma with another 11 per cent reporting severe reactions. It also showed that PTS among families remains high at 45 per cent and that in addition to children, older people and people with disabilities were particularly vulnerable to psychiatric problems. A full copy of the report is available at www.gcmhp.net. The UK supports both the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency to provide healthcare in Gaza, including psychosocial services.

Government Departments: Procurement

Lord Prescott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) date of purchase, (2) amount, (3) supplier and (4) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry of each transaction undertaken by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs using the Government Procurement Card in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09, (d) 2009-10, and (e) 2010-11.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: This Government are committed to transparency about its spending through government procurement cards.
	In October we began to publish detailed information on transactions over £500 for 2011-12 for the core department on our website and will continue to do so on a monthly basis. The information can be found at: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/defra-qpc-spend-over-500-pounds
	Information on transactions over £500 in core Defra for 2010/11 will be published by the end of March 2012.
	The work required to obtain, contextualise and report data from the previous three years, or for transactions under £500, could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Government Departments: Staff

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the salary band and the employer pension contribution percentage on 1 October 1997 for a teaching assistant; and what are the figures now.

Baroness Hanham: Teaching assistants are eligible for membership of the local government pension scheme. Their salary levels are determined by each individual employer. On 1 October 1997 the employee pension contribution rate was a fixed 6 per cent. However, tiered contribution rates are now applied to employees in accordance with the salary bands in the table below:
	
		
			 Band Range (Full time equivalent) Employee Contribution Rate 
			 1 Up to £12,900 15.5% 
			 2 £12,901 to £15,100 5.8% 
			 3 £15,101 to £19,400 5.9% 
			 4 £19,401 to £32,400 6.5% 
			 5 £32,401 to £43,300 6.8% 
			 6 £43,301 to £81,100 17.2% 
			 7 More than £81,100 17.5% 
		
	
	The rate of each employer's contribution is assessed every three years as part of the triennial valuation of the appropriate local authority pension fund to which they belong.

Health: Cancer

Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the comparatively low pancreatic cancer survival rates in the United Kingdom.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the geographical variation in pancreatic cancer survival rates across the United Kingdom.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to increase the number of clinical nurse specialists for pancreatic cancer.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the quality of care for pancreatic cancer patients in the United Kingdom.

Earl Howe: We know that England's cancer survival rates are currently poorer than many comparable countries. It is already widely accepted that the main reasons for this are late presentation and patients having more advanced stage at diagnosis. This is why we have prioritised achieving earlier diagnosis in Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer, published on 12 January 2011. The strategy sets out an ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives every year by 2014-15 through earlier diagnosis of cancer and improved access to screening and radiotherapy.
	To support the National Health Service to tackle regional variations in cancer survival rates we are providing data to providers and commissioners that allow them to benchmark their services and outcomes against one another and to identify where improvements need to be made. Through the national cancer intelligence network, we have already made available data collections on survival rates and surgical resection rates across a range of cancers. In August, we published the Radiotherapy Dataset First Annual Report to help tackle unwarranted variation in radiotherapy services and from April 2012 we are mandating the collection of chemotherapy data to achieve the same.
	In the 2010 Cancer Patient Experience Survey 90 per cent of patients with an upper gastrointestinal cancer, which includes cancer of the pancreas, reported having a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). The survey also showed that cancer patients who have support from a CNS have an overall better experience of care. We expect the NHS to consider this in developing their policies to improve patient experience.
	To support the NHS to develop the CNS workforce, the strategy sets out our intention to build the evidence base for the benefits and costs savings that CNSs can offer. This follows an independent report we published in December 2010 that showed that, in many scenarios, the costs of additional support roles are likely to be outweighed by the savings that can be achieved.
	The 2010 survey recorded the views of over 67,000 cancer patients, treated in 158 trusts across England. To incentivise quality improvements in patient treatment, care and experience, all participating trusts were sent a bespoke report showing their own results. Each report displayed the results for each question in the survey benchmarked against other trusts. These findings are helping the NHS to identify areas in cancer care that need improvement locally and develop services that are more responsive to patients' needs.
	We are carrying out a survey for 2011 that will show where improvements have been made and where further action is needed.
	The Minister of State for care services (Paul Burstow) met representatives from Pancreatic Cancer UK on Monday 19 December 2011.

Health: Dangerous Pathogens

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government what, if any, discussions they have had regarding an international convention on the safe transportation of pathogens.

Earl Attlee: The Department for Transport does not have any knowledge of an international convention on the safe transportation of pathogens nor of any discussions related to it. However, the safe transport of pathogens classified as infectious substances is addressed in the UN model regulations for the transport of dangerous goods that are transposed into mode specific legal transport agreements and thence to UK domestic regulations.

Health: Dermatology

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to address the psychological effects of psoriasis and other debilitating skin conditions.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to encourage the use of the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and the Dermatology Life Quality Index in the treatment and care of patients with psoriasis.

Earl Howe: The use of the psoriasis area and severity index in the management of psoriasis is already referenced in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (August 2010).
	The department has requested that NICE develop a guideline on the management of psoriasis, which is due to be completed in 2013. NICE has set out the scope for the guideline, identifying the key clinical issues that will be covered, which includes the management of the psychological impact of psoriasis. The scope also identifies a number of tools and approaches to be considered in relation to measuring patient outcomes, including the psoriasis area and severity index and the dermatology life quality index.

Higher Education: Funding

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government to how many sixth-form colleges in Merseyside they awarded grants in 2008, 2009 and 2010; and where those colleges are.

Lord Hill of Oareford: This question has been answered in relation to grant funding the Department (and its predecessor) has provided to the sixth-form colleges in question either directly or through the Young People's Learning Agency (and its predecessor).
	The following table highlights the 16-19 funding allocations to the three sixth-form colleges in Greater Merseyside for the last four academic years (2007/8-2010/11). This reflects the grant funding allocated for the colleges to provide education and training for their 16-19 year old students, including funding for 16-19 additional earning support (ALS). The local authorities (LA) in which the colleges are located are highlighted in the table.
	
		
			 Sixth Form College LA 2007/081 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 KING GEORGE V COLLEGE Sefton £7,659,191 £7,147,528 £7,251,489 £7,410,164 
			 CARMEL COLLEGE St Helens £7,440,687 £7,682,587 £8,024,264 £8,550,376 
			 BIRKENHEAD SIXTH FORM COLLEGE Wirral £5,591,959 £5,553,617 £5,939,310 £6,017,526 
		
	
	The figures (except where noted) do not include any grant funding from other government departments the colleges may have received for either any adult (19+) education and training they may have provided or any other purpose.
	1 These figures also include ALS funding provided for 19+ learners (ALS allocations were not split between 16-18 and 19+ in 2007/08 and therefore the figures stated are for all ages for this year). 19+ ALS is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Housing

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes will be built in each Norfolk local authority area under the 2011-14 Framework Development Agreements with the Homes and Communities Agency, according to registered provider.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes will be built or procured in each Norfolk local authority area through agreements under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for 2011-14, according to registered provider.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the average grant per home that will be provided by the Homes and Communities Agency for new affordable housing supply in each Norfolk local authority area for 2011-14, excluding any impact on that average of homes provided through agreements under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Baroness Hanham: The Homes and Communities Agency has not yet completed framework delivery agreements with all registered providers for delivery through the affordable homes programme so total allocations may increase once all agreements are completed. Details about homes to be delivered and funded through the affordable homes programme by local authority area are not yet available. The table below lists all providers who have agreed final contractual offers with the Homes and Communities Agency for delivery of affordable homes in the Norfolk area which includes Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich and South Norfolk.
	The department does not collect information on future Section 106 agreements. The Homes and Communities Agency does collect information on affordable homes being delivered within the affordable homes programme through Section 106 agreements. The table shows the number of Section 106 units currently agreed for each provider. The funding per unit information shown is the total funding for the provider in Norfolk divided by the total number of units, which includes those delivered on Section 106 sites. Funding allocations are made on an area basis, including both firm and indicative proposals. This means that, at this stage, the Homes and Communities Agency is unable to separately identify funding allocated to Section 106 schemes from funding allocated to other sites and are therefore unable to fully exclude any impact of Section 106 agreements from a funding per unit calculation. The final column of the table shows funding per unit once Section 106 schemes without grant assistance have been removed from the calculation.
	
		
			 Lead Provider HCA funding (£m) Total homes Of which, total homes delivered through s106 Funding per unit (£k) Funding per unit excluding nil grant s.106 
			 Circle Anglia Limited 4.5 280 30 16.2 18.1 
			 Hastoe Housing Association Ltd 0.9 46 11 20.9 27.4 
			 Kier Partnership Homes Ltd* 0 37 37 £0 0 
			 Orbit Group Limited 4.0 217 98 18.4 33.5 
			 Orwell Housing Association Ltd 4.7 312 57 £14.9 18.3 
			 Persimmon Homes Limited * 0.4 50 15 £8.2 11.6 
			 The Places for People Group Ltd 0 26 0 £0 0 
			 Grand Total 14.5 968 248 £15.0 20.3 
		
	
	Source: Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System
	*not registered providers

Housing

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many affordable houses were built for rent in Southport during 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Baroness Hanham: Data are not collected for individual towns but information is available for local authority districts by financial years. The number of new homes built for social rent in the borough of Sefton in 2008-9, 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Number of newly built homes for social rent in Sefton 
			 2008-09 69 
			 2009-10 87 
			 2010-11 166 
		
	
	Source: DCLG additional affordable housing supply statistics
	Not all social rented housing is delivered through new build completions; additional affordable supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. In 2010-11 for example a total of 176 additional social rented homes were delivered in Sefton.
	These figures are derived from data held by the department on delivery of additional affordable homes, as published in the Affordable Housing Supply Statistical Release at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/ corporate/statistics/affordablehousing201011

Inquiries: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what legislation the inquiries into the deaths of Billy Wright, Rosemary Nelson and Robert Hamill were conducted; and what were the costs of each of those inquiries.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Billy Wright inquiry was established under the Prison (Northern Ireland) Act 1953 and converted to an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 in November 2005. It published its report in September 2010 and cost a total of £30.5 million. The Rosemary Nelson inquiry was held under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. It published its report in May 2011 and cost £46.5 million. The Robert Hamill inquiry was established under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 and converted to an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 in March 2006. It closed in February 2011 and cost £33.0 million. Its report has not yet been published due to related ongoing legal proceedings in connection with the murder of Robert Hamill. Detailed costs relating to the Bloody Sunday, Billy Wright and Rosemary Nelson inquiries, broken down by year, are available on the Northern Ireland Office website: www.nio.gov.uk.

International Development

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government, taking into account the 2005 Paris Declaration, what were the outcomes of the recent High Level Forum on Aid in Busan, South Korea; and what action they are taking to achieve the targets agreed.

Baroness Northover: The three main UK priorities of results, transparency and fragility are now enshrined in the Busan outcome document which can be found here: http://www.aideffectiveness.org/busanhlf4/en/component/content/article/698.html Further to this, the UK played a central role in developing an inclusive outcome document that could be supported by emerging economies including China and Brazil.
	I have outlined in more detail the outcomes of Busan in my Written Ministerial Statement, 7 December 2011, Official Report, column 30WS.

Iran: Camp Ashraf

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to promote international scrutiny of Iran's human rights record, with particular reference to the situation of refugees in Camp Ashraf and the Baha'i community in Iran.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK is committed to promoting international scrutiny of Iran's human rights record, including through the United Nations (UN) and other international fora. We particularly welcome the recent decision of the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution expressing deep concern at Iran's human rights record and calling for the Iranian authorities to take urgent action. The resolution passed with a high level of support, demonstrating deepening international concern at Iran's human rights record. Following the storming of our embassy in Tehran on 29 November, the UK has downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran. However, we will maintain our firm stance on human rights, holding the Iranian authorities to account for any abuses, including the persecution of religious minorities such as the Baha'is. With our international partners and the UN, we also continue to monitor closely the situation at Camp Ashraf. We urge all sides to reach a peaceful, negotiated solution to the future of the residents of the camp. We urge the leadership of the camp to engage with the UN and the Government of Iraq, and for the Government of Iraq to respect the human rights of the residents, and to show flexibility over its deadline to close Camp Ashraf by the end of the year.

Metal

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the variation agreed in the heavy metal deposition mapping project.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: All evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (e.g. costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc). In August 2011 the Defra contract "Heavy Metal Deposition Mapping" was amended to include £159,698 of additional work and to extend the contract in time to March 2012.

Migration

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken a comparative study of United Kingdom net migration figures and those of other individual European Union member states; and, if so, what were the findings.

Lord Henley: The latest comparative international net migration statistics are published by Eurostat and relate to 2010. The following table shows that in 2010 net migration was 2.6 per thousand inhabitants for the UK, the 8th highest net migration figure among EU 27 nations relative to the size of the population.
	Crude rates of population change, 2008-2010 (per 100 inhabitants) Source: Eurostat (Population Change and Population Change Statistics, available from the EU's website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_ explained/index.php/Population_and_population_ change_statisticsdemo_gind)
	
		
			 Crude rates of population change, 2008-2010 (per 1 000 inhabitants) 
			  Total change Natural change Net migration and statistical adjustment 
			  2008 2009 2010 2008 2009 2010 2008 2009 2010 
			 European Union (27) 4.0 2.8 2.8 1.2 1.0 1.0 2.9 1.8 1.8 
			 Belgium 8.0 8.0 10.3 2.2 2.1 2.1 5.9 5.9 8.2 
			 Bulgaria -4.4 -5.6 -7.8 -4.3 -3.6 -4.6 -0.1 -2.1 -3.2 
			 Czech Republic 8.3 3.7 2.5 1.4 1.0 1.0 6.9 2.7 1.5 
			 Denmark 6.5 4.2 4.7 1.9 1.4 1.6 4.6 2.8 3.0 
			 Germany -2.6 -2.4 -0.6 -2.0 -2.3 -2.2 -0.7 -0.1 1.6 
			 Estonia -0.4 -0.2 0.0 -0.5 -0.2 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 
			 Ireland 11.0 4.0 2.9 10.3 10.2 10.4 0.7 -6.2 -7.5 
			 Greece 4.1 4.0 1.8 0.9 0.9 0.3 3.2 3.1 1.5 
			 Spain 12.0 3.5 3.6 2.9 2.4 2.3 9.0 1.1 1.3 
			 France 5.6 5.4 5.5 4.5 4.3 4.4 1.2 1.1 1.2 
			 Italy 7.1 4.9 4.7 0.0 -0.4 -0.4 7.1 5.3 5.2 
			 Cyprus 9.6 7.8 1.6 5.1 5.5 5.7 4.5 2.3 -4.1 
			 Latvia -4.2 -5.7 -8.4 -3.1 -3.6 -4.8 -1.1 -2.1 -3.5 
			 Lithuania -4.9 -6.2 -25.7 -2.6 -1.6 -2.0 -2.3 -4.6 -23.7 
			 Luxembourg 19.9 17.2 19.3 4.1 4.0 4.2 15.8 13.2 15.1 
			 Hungary -1.4 -1.7 -2.9 -3.1 -3.4 -4.0 1.6 1.7 1.2 
			 Malta 8.1 1.8 7.8 2.1 2.2 2.4 5.9 -0.4 5.4 
			 Netherlands 4.9 5.4 4.9 3.0 3.1 2.9 1.9 2.3 2.0 
			 Austria 4.4 2.4 3.5 0.3 -0.1 0.2 4.1 2.5 3.3 
			 Poland 0.5 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 -0.4 0.0 -0.1 
			 Portugal 0.9 1.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.5 -0.4 0.9 1.4 0.4 
			 Romania -1.4 -1.7 -2.3 -1.5 -1.6 -2.2 0.1 -0.1 0.0 
			 Slovenia 10.9 (b) 7.2 1.6 1.7 (b) 1.5 1.8 9.2 (b) 5.6 -0.3 
			 Slovakia 2.1 2.3 1.9 0.8 1.5 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.6 
			 Finland 4.9 4.7 4.4 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.9 2.7 2.6 
			 Sweden 8.0 9.1 8.0 1.9 2.3 2.7 6.0 6.7 5.3 
			 United Kingdom 6.6 7.0 6.6 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.1 3.3 2.6 
		
	
	(b) break in series
	Source: Eurostat (Population Change and Population Change Statistics, available from the EU's website

NHS: Foundation Trusts

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average length of time taken for an NHS trust application for Foundation Trust status to (1) reach Monitor, and (2) be decided.

Earl Howe: Up to the end of November 2011, the last 10 National Health Service foundation trust applications referred to the Monitor assessment stage by the department, have taken an average of three and a half months, the shortest time taking two months and the longest six months. On average, Monitor's assessment stage takes five and a half months to complete, the shortest time taking three months and the longest 10 months.

Northern Ireland Office: Consultants

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 6 December (WA 148), concerning consultants employed by the Northern Ireland Office, who else applied for the contract and who made the selection.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Five applications were received for this contract from the following companies:
	BDO Kappa ConsultingDeloitte MCS LtdFGS McClure WattersFPM Chartered AccountantsKPMG
	The tendering process adhered to government procurement guidelines and was facilitated by the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD), a division of the Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland. An evaluation panel, established by the Northern Ireland Office and supported by a representative of CPD, made the selection.

Northern Ireland Office: Consultants

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 6 December (WA 148) concerning consultants employed by the Northern Ireland Office to carry out an economic appraisal into the uses of Hillsborough Castle, whether they will place a copy of the tender document in the Library of the House.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I am unable to place a copy of the consultant's tender document in the Library as this is a commercially sensitive document.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what savings were made by the Northern Ireland Office during 2010-11; and what reduction in staff was involved, if any.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: 2010-11 was the first year that the Northern Ireland Office was in operation in its current form. It is not, therefore, possible to provide comparative costs for previous years. However, during 2010-11, the department did secure savings in a number of keys areas including travel costs, IT costs and other administrative costs. The department keeps staffing levels under regular review and vacancies are only filled when there is judged to remain a business need to do so.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review any extra payments and bonuses to be paid to staff of the Northern Ireland Office; and, if so, when, how, and by whom the review will be conducted.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Northern Ireland Office staff are paid in line with Ministry of Justice terms and conditions-this includes the recognition and reward scheme. We are not aware of any plans to review this scheme.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis and Cars

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, as part of the cuts due to the Northern Ireland Office's budget over the next two years, whether the arrangement for the provision of taxis and cars for staff will be resumed; and, if so, how, when, and by whom.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Northern Ireland Office staff may only claim the costs of taxis and/or cars in respect of journeys made for the purposes of official business. Any such payments must be authorised by the appropriate line manager. There are no plans to change this policy.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 12 December (WA 220) stating that "the Government remains clear that reaching agreement within Northern Ireland is essential to further progress on rights issues", what is the desired progress to which he referred.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Government are clear that, if the work of the Commission on a UK Bill of Rights results in legislation, then this would provide a vehicle in which to implement rights specific to Northern Ireland. However, as the answer of 12 December makes clear, there needs to be agreement within Northern Ireland on such rights.

Northern Ireland: Security Restrictions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for security restrictions in lower Chichester Street, Belfast, which prevent its use by buses and cars; what security criteria were used for the decision to re-impose the restrictions; who made the decision; and why the roads at the side and back of the courts complex are not also closed.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The decision to close Lower Chichester Street was made in April 2010 by the then Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office.
	The decision was reviewed by the current Minister of State in September 2011.

Overseas Aid

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to work with other agencies and donors to ensure sufficient finance to enable disabled children to access education under the Millennium Development Goal 2.

Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development's (DFID) education investments will reach all children including those with a disability through our support to multilateral, international and non-governmental organisations. For example, in Malawi, DFID has contributed to approximately 700,000 children with disabilities entering education. Through DFID support 4,200 classrooms have been constructed and 70 per cent of these have ramp access. In addition DFID supports over 85 disabled peoples' organisations and civil society organisations to address the issues facing people with disabilities in poor countries.
	The UK has publicly committed to support at least 9 million children in primary school and 2 million children in secondary school by 2015. In addition, through the recently launched new girls' education challenge programme, we will work with charities and businesses to find new and effective ways to educate up to 1 million of the world's most marginalised girls which will include those with disabilities. Further details can be found on DFID's website at www.dfid.gov.uk

Overseas Aid

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that teacher training delivered under their commitments to international development contributes to opportunities for children with disabilities to access quality education.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government's pledge to train 190,000 teachers by 2014 will be delivered through multilateral organisations. The Department for International Development (DFID) also provides support to international non-governmental organisations, for example, the United Nations (UN), Save the Children, Plan International and World Vision, for programmes that have a child-rights' focus and work with vulnerable children in developing countries to deliver programmes to help children with disabilities to access education; to reduce exclusion and inequality; and, ultimately, poverty among vulnerable groups. DFID expects multilateral organisations to adhere to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in their operations.
	In addition, DFID is supporting teacher training through our bilateral education programme, as published in the operational plans of DFID country offices. In 2010, the department issued a guidance note entitled Education for Children with Disabilities-Improving Access and Quality, which emphasises the importance of complying with the UN convention, and utilising inclusive methodologies in teaching to ensure quality and inclusiveness in education.

Overseas Aid

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage and monitor the involvement of disabled people in developing countries in the design of aid programmes directed towards their welfare.

Baroness Northover: The coalition Government are committed to the inclusion of disabled people in development. The extent to which UK aid can help to improve the welfare and lives of disadvantaged groups, such as people with disabilities, forms an important part of programme design and country assistance plans.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) supports disabled people in a variety of means including through: DFID country programmes; multilateral support provided through United Nations, European Commission and other organisations; and support to civil society provided through the global poverty action fund, strategic programme partnership agreements with organisations such as Action for Disability and Development, Sightsavers, and Comic Relief. In addition DFID provides support to the Disability Rights Fund which supports disabled people's organisations in the global south to take the lead in advocating for the human rights of people with disabilities in line with the UN Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities. Examples of DFID programmes supporting people with disabilities include in India, where the Government of India's Education for All programme has increased the number of children with disabilities who attend school. A total of 3.04 million children have been identified with special needs, of whom over 90 per cent are now in school. Home-based schooling is being provided for children with severe disabilities.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government which budget lines are likely to be affected by the proposed reduction in overseas development aid.

Baroness Northover: At this stage, our planning assumption is that we should still be able to deliver the set of results agreed in the bilateral aid review, multilateral aid review, humanitarian emergency response review and related processes. We had held back some resources at the centre to achieve additional results which provides us with some flexibility to handle the reduction announced in the autumn statement. We shall look further at this as part of the normal planning process in the first quarter of 2012.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Department for International Development bilateral funding for country programmes will be reduced.

Baroness Northover: While this adjustment will obviously mean that we will not be able to do everything we had hoped, Britain will still be doing more than ever before to tackle poverty and save lives around the world. The Department for International Development will work even harder to ensure that measures announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement does not significantly threaten results on the ground in developing countries, redoubling our efforts on value for money.

Parking: Evenings and Weekends

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, in the light of the Portas Review, of the proposals by Westminster City Council to levy parking charges at evenings and weekends.

Baroness Hanham: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Bob Neill) to a similar question about Westminster parking charges posed by the honourable Member for Westminster North on 7 December 2011, Official Report, Column 342W.
	The Government expect to respond to the Portas review in the spring.

Patrick Finucane

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what legislation the previously proposed inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane was intended to be conducted.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The previous Administration proposed to establish an inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane under the Inquiries Act 2005.

Patrick Finucane

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 8 December (WA 198), whether they have made payments to Madden and Finucane Solicitors of any sort in relation to the death of Patrick Finucane; and, if so, what amount they have paid in the past five years.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: No payments have been made to Madden and Finucane Solicitors in relation to the death of Patrick Finucane over the past five years.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 11 August (WA 429-30), whether the Transport for London (TfL) Pension Fund is one of the entities reporting to HM Treasury in order to produce the consolidated Whole of Government Accounts; and, if so, what is TfL's prospective pension payments liability.

Lord Sassoon: The Transport for London Pension Fund is not one of the entities reporting to HM Treasury for the consolidated whole of government accounts. Its pension liability is included in the accounts of Transport for London which is consolidated in the whole of government accounts.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage independent candidates to stand for election as Police and Crime Commissioners in November 2012.

Lord Henley: The Government have been clear that we welcome independent candidates in police and crime commissioner elections. The Government will ensure that members of the public have the information they need to be able to decide whether to put themselves forward for election. On 21 November my right honourable friend the Minister for policing and criminal justice issued a clarion call for candidates of all types and all backgrounds. He also launched the Government's engagement programme including a website containing all the key information and a booklet setting out why people should stand to be a police and crime commissioner. The Government will continue to talk to experts from policing, local government and academia about the best way to ensure that this information reaches those who need it. In addition, officials will hold a series of engagement events across England and Wales in January, February and March to reinforce these messages.

Police: Pursuits

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police officers in Kent Police and Sussex Police have been granted permission to have paid employment or business interests outside of policing in 2011; and whether this is an increase on the figures for 2010.

Lord Henley: The Home Office does not collect this information.

Prisoners: Voting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with the governments of France, Germany and Spain the practical arrangements for prisoner voting.

Lord McNally: We received information from the Governments of France, Germany and Spain for the purposes of compiling an information note on European disfranchisement regimes, which is available in the libraries of both Houses and can be downloaded from the following address:
	www.parliament.uk/deposits/depositedpapers/2011/DEP2011-0663.doc
	Officials met with representatives of the German embassy in the UK on 16 March 2011 to discuss the issue of prisoner voting rights in the context of a broader discussion on human rights and reform of the European Court of Human Rights.

Prisoners: Voting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost to date of their work on implementing the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Hirst (No. 2) v United Kingdom on voting rights for prisoners.

Lord McNally: There are costs associated with the maintenance and implementation of policy in relation to prisoner voting rights. At this stage, it is not possible to separate these costs from the Government's work responding to specific court judgments and general policy maintenance on wider franchise issues. The Government are awaiting final judgment in the Scoppola case on this issue from the European Court of Human Rights and will announce their next steps in due course.

Railways: Stations

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent on the upgrading of railway stations in each of the past three years.

Earl Attlee: The following table sets out expenditure (in millions) on specific programmes for the upgrading of railway stations in each of the past three financial years:
	
		
			  2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 National Stations Improvement Programme *  £33.2 £37.0 
			 Access for All ** £53.2 £90.0 £102.0 
			 King's Cross £115.1 £98.5 £106.4 
			 Birmingham New Street £100.0 £33.2 £44.9 
			 Reading £11.0 £31.0 £59.0 
		
	
	* covers England and Wales and includes third party funding
	** covers England, Scotland and Wales
	In addition to the above expenditure, Network Rail and the train operators will have invested in station upgrades as part of ongoing renewals work and as part of franchise agreements.

Schools: Milk

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local authorities in 2010-11 and 2011-12 have offered their school children (1) "dental milk", and (2) ordinary milk.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Schools and local authorities (LAs) decide whether or not to provide milk to their pupils. The Government do not collect information about the number of LAs which choose to do so, nor the type of milk provided.
	Where LAs and schools decide to provide milk, they can also choose to participate in the EU school milk subsidy scheme. This scheme reduces the cost of milk to parents and is operated by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) on behalf of Defra.
	According to the RPA, 92 English LAs provide milk to their pupils under the subsidy scheme. Other LAs may provide milk but choose not to participate in the scheme. Ten of the 92 LAs are known to provide milk fortified with fluoride (dental milk).

Second World War: Debts

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 15 November (WA 141-2) concerning debts associated with the Second World War, with what countries was a settlement made; what was the settlement; and when and how was it agreed.

Lord Sassoon: Details of debts associated with the Second World War owing by or owed to the United Kingdom are provided in the Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom and, their successor, the Supplementary Statements to the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts for the financial years 1945-46 to 1987-88, and the following Command Papers:
	China CM 198;Czechoslovakia Cmd 7798 and Cmnds 55, 56 and 2280; France Cmnd 6988;Netherlands Cmd 7358;Poland Cmd 6864 and 7148 and Cmnd 1057;Turkey Cmds 6165 and 9120; andUSSR Cmd 7297.
	The further information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Somalia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of Al-Shabab's recent disruption of the work of non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies in southern Somalia on humanitarian relief work and the alleviation of famine in the Horn of Africa.

Baroness Northover: The decision by al-Shabaab to ban 16 United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organisations operating in south Somalia will further compromise the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UN is urgently assessing the impact of this decision and working up options for maintaining the delivery of life-saving assistance.
	Overall, the situation remains confused. A number of the affected agencies are continuing to provide services through Somali partner organisations. But preliminary analysis suggests that an absolute enforcement of the ban will mean 600,000 fewer people receive food assistance in December as compared to October. Significant reductions in beneficiary caseloads for nutrition, health and water and sanitation are also anticipated. We are considering the implications of the UN's assessment for UK programming.

Stateless People

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many stateless persons are currently residing in the United Kingdom.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they identify stateless persons residing in the United Kingdom.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Lester, dated December 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to you Parliamentary Questions asking;
	How stateless persons residing in the United Kingdom are identified (14228)How many stateless persons are currently residing in the United Kingdom (14227)
	The Office for National Statistics does not have the information necessary to identify or make an estimate of the number of stateless people in the UK.
	A joint research report on Mapping Statelessness in the United Kingdom has been produced by the Asylum Aid and UN High Commission for Refugees. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mapping Statelessness in The United Kingdom, 22 November 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4ecb6a192.html

Taxation

Lord Baker of Dorking: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if those earning under £15,000 paid nothing and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if those earning £15,000 to £30,000 paid 10 per cent and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if those earning £30,000 to £60,000 paid 15 per cent and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if those earning £60,000 to £120,000 paid 20 per cent and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if those earning £120,000 and over paid 30 per cent and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the yield of income tax for the year 2010-11; and what it would have been if (1) an allowance had been made at one per cent per child or dependant, or (2) all sources of income around the world qualified for income tax, and assuming that all other allowances were discontinued.

Lord Sassoon: Income tax receipts in 2010-11 were £153.5 billion.
	Estimated changes in income tax liabilities, compared with those arising under the actual 2010-11 income tax system, are set out in the table below, assuming: (a) those earning under £15,000 paid no income tax; (b) those earning £15,000 to £30,000 paid 10 per cent; (c) those earning £30,000 to £60,000 paid 15 per cent; (d) those earning £60,000 to £120,000 paid 20 per cent; and (e) those earning £120,000 and over paid 30 per cent.
	The estimated changes assume that the specified tax rates of the hypothetical 2010-11 tax system applied to the total of income assessable for tax for all individuals within each band, i.e. represent average rates of tax; and that no allowances, deductions or income tax reliefs applied.
	
		
			 Taxpayer gross income band Estimated change in income tax liabilities £ billion 
			 Under £15,000 -7.1 
			 £15,000 to £29,999 -6.9 
			 £30,000 to £59,999 -1 .5 
			 £60,000 to £119,999 -4.2 
			 £120,000 and over -8.7 
			 Total -28.4 
		
	
	These estimates take no account of behavioural responses to changes in tax rates and thresholds and withdrawal of allowances and reliefs. Behavioural effects would be substantial for changes of this nature and magnitude. However, estimates of the behavioural responses are not available.
	These estimates are based on the 2007-08 survey of personal incomes projected to 2010-11 in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility's November 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
	In addition, it is estimated that tax liabilities under the specified 2010-11 income tax system would fall by a further f4.5 billion if allowances were introduced in the form of a one percentage point reduction in tax rates per child for taxpayers with children. This estimate is informed by Family Resources Survey data projected to 2010-11.
	It is not possible to provide an estimate of the tax yield which would arise if the total worldwide income of all taxpayers were liable to tax in the UK as Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs does not hold data on the amount of foreign income held by those taxpayers who are not liable to UK tax on it. However, all UK resident and domiciled taxpayers are liable to UK tax on their worldwide income and so the tax paid on their foreign income is already included in the existing income tax yield after various tax treaty arrangements for tax paid overseas.
	It is not possible to quantify the change in UK receipts if there were no allowances for foreign tax and no tax treaties.

Telephone Hacking: Investigators

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the phone hacking investigations and the involvement of private investigators employed by the media, what plans they have to license such investigators.

Lord Henley: There is no current licensing regime for private investigators. The Private Security Industry Act 2001 contains provisions for the regulation by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) of individuals conducting private investigations. We are currently considering whether these provisions should be brought into force.
	The Government announced in October 2010 that there will be a phased transition from the SIA to a new independent regulatory regime for the private security industry, which will place a greater focus on licensing businesses. Any regulation of private investigators which is brought into force before then will be included in the transition to the new regime.

Transport: Heavy Goods Vehicles

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the percentage increase in carbon dioxide emissions by articulated heavy goods vehicles and rigid heavy goods vehicles on single carriageway roads if their maximum speed limits were to be increased from 40 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour.

Earl Attlee: The Logistics Growth Review-Connecting People with Goods published in November announced our intention to consult on the speed limit for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on single carriageway roads next year. The consultation will include an impact assessment covering environmental as well as other issues.

Unemployment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young people are not in employment, education or training in the north west of England; and how this compares with other regions of the United Kingdom.

Baroness Wilcox: Table 1 below provides estimates of the number and proportion of people aged1 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in each region of England in Quarter 3 2011. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey and are published in supplementary tables to the Department for Educations NEET Quarterly Brief which can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001040/index.shtml
	Due to differences in the way separate UK countries define and measure the number of people not in education, employment and training we are unable to produce an estimate for the UK as a whole. Estimates for other countries in the UK are a devolved issue.
	Table 1: People aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Q3 2011
	
		
			  Number Percentage Confidence Interval 
			 England 1,163,000 19.2% +/- 0.9 pp 
			 North East 70,000 21.2% +/- 3.9 pp 
			 North West 204,000 23.9% +/- 2.4 pp 
			 Yorks & Humber 157,000 22.7% +/- 2.7 pp 
			 East Midlands 81,000 14.9% +/- 2.6 pp 
			 West Midlands 136,000 21.2% +/- 2.7 pp 
			 East of England 115,000 18.9% +/- 2.6 pp 
			 London 159,000 17.9% +/- 2.4 pp 
			 South-East 159,000 17.1% +/- 2.1 pp 
			 South-West 82,000 14.0% +/- 2.6 pp 
		
	
	1 Age used is academic age, which is defined as the respondents age as at the preceding 31 August
	Please note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals2 (CIs), which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a CI of +/-3.9 percentage points (pp) means that the true value is between 3.9pp above the estimate and 3.9pp below the estimate.